Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

http://archive.org/details/twelfthnightatceOOcent_0 


TWELFTH-NIGHT 


at  the 


(1* c n t u r n  (flub. 


MDCCCLIX. 


Pi 
CI 

I 

* 


■felftli-ligjit. 


♦  •  ♦ 


Amongst  the  pleasant  anniversaries  wliicli  a  new  year  brings 
with  it,  comes  the  ever-welcome  Century  Festival.  This  event, 
so  interesting  to  loyal  Oenturiaus,  took  place,  as  usual,  on 
Twelfth-Night,  sixth  of  January,  which  this  year  fell  upon 
Thursday  evening.  It  was  attended  with  all  the  ceremonies 
peculiar  to  this  festival,  one  of  which  is  the  ceremony  of  elect- 
ing a  Queen;  it  being  common  to  both  May-day  and  Twelfth- 
Night,  and  one  that  throws  a  brighter  veil  of  poetry  over  these 
holidays  than  characterizes  any  other  days  on  the  festive  cal- 
endar. It  is  unnecessary  to  recapitulate  the  attractions  of  the 
Century  rooms;  the  elegant  saloon  and  charming  ladies'  boudoir 
were  as  beautiful  and  impressive  as  the  year  before,  nor  is  it 
incumbent  on  us  to  state  that  an  immense  crowd  of  fair  ladies, 
in  tasteful  and  rich  costume,  imparted  more  life  and  brilliancy 
to  the  saloon  than  black  coats  do  in  a  business  or  convivial 


4 


meeting.  Several  smaller  rooms  were  thrown  open,  and  used 
as  dressing  rooms,  conversation  rooms,  etc.  We  cannot  avoid 
noticing,  however,  out  of  our  sensitiveness  for  pictorial 
features,  that  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  as  well  as  peculiar 
effects  of  this  brilliant  assemblage,  was  to  be  seen  in  its  per- 
fection only  by  those  loyal  subjects  and  guests  who  gathered 
in  the  great  room  at  an  early  hour,  or  who  lingered  in  or 
around  the  dance  after  the  midnight  hour  had  somewhat 
thinned  the  apartments.  It  is  most  happily  described  by  a 
writer  in  a  contemporary  journal  (The  Home  Journal),  with  the 
feeling  and  judgment  of  one  alike  skilled  in  female  beauty  and 
in  the  magic  effects  of  light  and  color.  In  his  words:  "  While 
the  grand  saloon  was  filling,  the  effect  was  marvellously  beau- 
tiful— the  elegant  dresses  of  the  fashion  and  beauty  of  the  city 
telling  with  great  value  and  relief  against. the  crimson  back- 
ground. Single  figures  and  combined  groups — the  sharp  intag- 
lio of  a  fine  profile — the  luminous  brilliancy  of  full  shoulders, 
or  rounded  arms — the  varied  and  picturesquely-becoming  head- 
dresses, having  a  detached  and  picture-like  impressiveness, 
which  a  room  of  such  size  and  hangings  can  alone  give." 

All  this  is  true,  and  "yet  scarce  half  the  truth  is  told."  But 
we  must  proceed.  Before  glancing  at  the  order  of  proceedings, 
we  have  to  state  that  the  lower  story  of  the  club  edifice  was 
less  elaborately  decorated  than  the  year  before;  festoons,  gar- 
lands, and  variegated  rosettes,  intermingled  with  evergreens, 
were  appended  to  walls,  ceilings,  cornices,  and  staircases,  pro- 
ducing, if  not  so  imposing  an  effect  as  middle-age  trappings,  yet  a 


s 


social  and  cheerful  aspect.  Conspicuous  among  these  was  an  im- 
mense "salve"  in  the  hall  facing  the  entrance,  assuring  the  fair 
guests  as  they  arrived  that  they  were  most  cordially  welcome. 

The  company  assembled  at  half-past  eight,  and  at  ten  o'clock 
the  cake  was  cut,  and  passed  round,  one  fair  lady  finding  (by 
chance,  undoubtedly)  an  emblem  of  eternal  sovereignty — a  ring 
— in  one  of  the  pieces  of  cake,  and  she  was  accordingly  dis- 
covered, and  announced  as  Queen.  Some  spiritual  and,  we 
think,  jealous  descendant  of  the  Eastern  Magi,  must  have  pre- 
sided over  the  revels,  for  oue  of  the  wisest  of  the  wise  men  of 
the  club,  its  president,  was  elected  as  the  Queen's  consort ;  our 
republican  candor  constrains  us  to  say  that  the  title  of  King, 
allowed  him  openly  by  courtesy,  was  traitorously  coveted 
by  some  of  his  junior  peers.  "We  must  here,  by  the  way,  men- 
tion one  peculiarity  of  the  etiquette  of  the  Oenturial  Court, 
variant  from  ordinary  usage,  though  we  do  not  at  all  doubt  that 
it  is  founded  on  the  highest  authority,  and  was  adopted  after 
profound  research  and  grave  deliberation.  It  is  this:  Her 
Majesty  the  Queen  is  regarded  as  the  reigning  sovereign,  and 
receives  the  homage  of  her  subjects,  whilst  His  Majesty  has 
only  the  place  and  honor  of  a  King  Consort,  and  announces 
and  bears  himself  as  "  Her  Majesty's  highest  and  most  de- 
voted subject."  The  election  over,  and  the  ring  having 
been  placed  on  Her  Majesty's  finger,  the  Queen  and  King 
were  invested  with  the  regal  insignia.  A  tastefully  designed 
cap,  after  the  fashion  of  that  of  the  Doge  of  Venice,  made 
of  ermine  and  crimson  velvet,  surmounted  by  a  golden  orb, 


6 


was  set  upon  His  Majesty's  head;  a  red  cordon  was  passed 
over  his  neck,  and  a  golden  sceptre  was  placed  in  his  hand. 
The  Queen  was  crowned  with  a  crimson  cap,  d  la  grecque,  and 
a  classic  gold  coronet-wreath,  while  the  grand  cross  of  the  order 
of  the  Century,  attached  to  a  blue  cordon,  was  suspended  over 
her  shoulder.  After  the  robing  ceremonies  were  completed, 
acclamations  burst  forth,  and  the  assembly  of  loyal  and  enthusi- 
astic subjects  chanted,  as  if  in  one  voice,  the  following  anthem  : 

queen's  anthem. 

Hail  to  our  gracious  queen, 
Well  hath  she  chosen  been, 

Hail  gracious  queen. 
Freely  we  own  thy  sway, 
Humbly  our  homage  pay, 
Gladly  we  all  obey, 

Hail  gracious  queen. 

Honor  the  newly  crowned, 
Raise  high  the  festive  sound, 

Hail  gracious  queen. 
Here  on  this  festive  night, 
Gathered  to  grace  our  rite, 
Subjects  we  all  unite, 

Hail  gracious  queen. 

Earth  knows  no  queen  like  ours, 
Strew,  then,  her  path  with  flowers, 
Hail  gracious  queen. 

Here  on  our  bended  knee, 
Homage  we  pay  to  thee, 
Queen  of  the  Century, 

Hail  gracious  queen. 


7 


Ushers  of  the  golden  rod  then  approached,  and  presented 
distinguished  guests,  among  them  the  ladies  of  our  national 
representatives  at  the  courts  of  Spain  and  Austria,  including  a 
number  of  representatives  of  the  home  court  of  Beauty  ;  the 
whole  of  the  court  present  then  made  a  circuit  before  their  ma- 
jesties, being  rapidly  introduced  as  they  passed.  The  presenta- 
tions being  over,  the  King  and  Queen  arose,  and,  to  the  sound  of 
music,  led  the  way  to  the  banqueting  rooms  below,  followed 
by  their  subjects,  and  preceded  by  two  high  officers  of  state,  hold- 
ing golden  rods,  and  walking  backward,  facing  their  majesties, 
down  the  grand  staircase ;  their  majesties  took  seats  on  chairs 
of  state  placed  upon  a  dais  erected  behind  the  rich  and 
luxuriantly  spread  table,  upon  which  the  customary  boar's 
head  was  not  forgotten.  The  scene  that  followed  baffles 
description.  No  baronial  hall  on  Christmas  day,  or  Greek 
symposium  could  present  a  more  animated  picture.  None 
but  a  combatant  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  could  do  jus- 
tice to  the  gallantry  of  the  cavaliers,  who  so  eagerly  pressed 
forward  to  do  service  for  the  ladies.  As  soon  as — to  use  the 
Homeric  phrase  as  rendered  by  Pope — "  the  rage  of  hunger 
was  appeased,"  the  King,  commanding  silence  in  the  court,  re- 
minded the  assemblage  that,  according  to  immemorial  usage,  it 
was  their  duty  to  offer  their  congratulations  to  the  new  Queen 
in  the  form  of  a  toast,  and  this  duty,  as  her  majesty's  first  and 
most  devoted  subject,  it  was  his  proud  office  to  discharge  by  pro- 
posing 

UTUE  TTEALTn  OF  THE  QuEEN." 


8 


To  this  toast,  Mr.  P.  A.  Porter  replied,  honored  by  Her 

Majesty's  commands  : 

As  a  loyal  subject,  standing  by  chance  near  the  throne,  I  have  been 
honored  by  Her  Majesty's  commands.  I  am  instructed  to  thank  the 
assembly  for  the  enthusiasm  just  manifested.  Her  Majesty  is  aware 
that  it  is  not  usual  for  crowned  heads  to  acknowledge  the  applause  of 
their  subjects  by  more  than  a  faint  smile  of  approval ;  but  Her  Majesty 
desires  to  begin  her  reign  by  an  act  of  great  condescension,  and,  more- 
over, she  recognizes  around  her  a  roomful  of  sovereigns.  If  the  loyal 
subjects  of  this  realm  expect  an  inaugural  address  from  their  gracious 
Queen,  they  are  doomed  to  disappointment.  Inaugurals  are  plenty — 
they  are  also  dangerous.  Gratitude,  Her  Majesty  knows,  has  been  de- 
fined to  be  a  lively  sense  of  benefits  to  come.  Let  a  grateful  people 
look  forward,  therefore,  to  a  long  future  of  possible  favor.  Some  sove- 
reigns have  reigned,  but  have  not  governed  ;  some  have  governed,  but 
have  not  reigned  (long).  It  is  hoped  that  the  present  government  will 
be  a  judicious  mixture  of  the  two  sorts  of  rule  ;  and,  that  Her  Majesty's 
subjects  on  the  next  new  year — unlike  Her  Majesty's  subjects  on  the 
last  new  year — will  regret  that  the  reign  (rain)  is  over.  The  future 
of  all  political  authority,  however,  is  uncertain  ;  but  I  dare  to  exceed 
my  instructions,  and  to  predict  that  there  is  one  authority  and  one 
empire  which  will  suffer  nothing  in  Her  Majesty's  hands — an  empire 
that  depends  on  neither  chance  nor  choice — older  than  kingdoms  or 
republics — that  began  in  Eden,  and  is  to  end  with  the  last  man  and 
the  empire  of  her  sex. 

Her  Majesty  commanded  me  to  be  brief.  I  obey  with  reluctance  ; 
but  I  am  instructed  by  the  Queen  to  present  for  the  acclaim  of  all  loyal 
subjects,  the  exalted  personage  who  sits  beside  her — who  is  alike  King 
of  Twelfth-Night  and  President  of  our  little  republic, — a  royal  Presi- 
dent and  a  presiding  King,  who  derives  one  set  of  powers  from  the 
cake,  and  another  from  the  constitution.  Out  of  respect  to  that  con- 
stitution and  to  that  great  republic,  which  overshadow  both  our  little 
kingdom  and  our  little  republic,  1  give  as  the  next  name  to  be 
honored — "The  President.1'' 


9 


To  tills  toast,  which  was  enthusiastically  received,  His  Majesty 
was  graciously  pleased  to  respond  in  person.  But  before  com- 
mencing his  speech  he  respectfully  submitted  to  Her  Majesty 
the  Queen  the  propriety  of  conferring  some  high  dignity  upon 
the  last  orator,  to  which  Her  Majesty  graciously  assenting,  the 
honors  of  a  peerage  were  conferred  in  due  form. 

The  King  then  observed,  that  by  "  the  President,"  on  this  occasion, 
but  one  individual  could  be  meant.  However  many  might  bear  that 
title,  whether  in  a  political,  financial,  or  literary  rule,  here  the  title 
could  have  no  other  in  view  than  the  President  of  the  Century.  Hav- 
ing known  that  high  functionary  longer  than  any  one  else,  knowing 
him  better  than  any  one  could,  even  as  "  his  other  self,"  he  was 
bound  to  pronounce  his  eulogy.  He  then  proceeded  to  recapitulate  the 
merits  and  glories  of  the  President's  gentle  government,  equalling  in 
quiet,  in  good  nature,  and  in  good  fellowship  Beranger's  good  King  of 
Yvetot,  whilst  he  far  surpassed  even  that  classic  monarch  in  the  glories 
of  his  administration.  Under  his  sway  the  arts  had  flourished,  and 
the  walls  of  hundreds  of  halls  and  saloons  throughout  the  land  glowed 
with  the  living  genius  of  the  artists  of  the  Century;  whilst  on  all  sides 
noble  churches,  palatial  residences,  and  commercial  edifices  of  more 
than  palatial  magnificence,  had  arisen — rapid  and  lofty  as  the  moun- 
tain mists,  firm  and  solid  as  the  mountains  themselves — from  the  con- 
structive skill  of  our  architects.  Letters  had  been  fostered,  and  the 
varied  talent  of  the  members  of  this  intellectual  State  poured  forth  in 
every  form,  from  the  light  song  or  gay  satire  to  the  massy  Cyclo- 
pedia. The  "  Century  "  had  been  recognized  among  the  powers  of 
the  earth  in  the  Literary  Congress  at  Brussels,  in  the  person  of  its 
gifted  ambassador.  But  it  was  the  peculiar  happiness  of  the  distin- 
guished personage  whose  health  had  been  so  cordially  received  now  to 
reign  by  a  double  right.  It  was  the  special  praise  of  the  greatest  of 
the  Bourbons,  Henry  IV".,  that  he  reigned  by  a  double  right,  "  by  the 
right  of  conquest  and  the  right  of  birth."    So  the  President  of  the 


10 


Century  now  reigned  over  a  loyal  and  loving  people  by  the  double  right 
of  popular  election  and  the  divine  right  of  Twelfth-Night  choice  by  the 
mysterious  cake  and  ring.  His  majesty  said  that  he  could  acknow- 
ledge but  one  contemporary  sovereign  having  a  similar  title.  This 
was  his  imperial  brother  the  Emperor  and  former  President  of  France. 
He  then  expressed  a  fervent  wish  that  his  brother  President  Buchanan 
might  resemble  himself  in  happy  fortune,  and  not  only  pass  quietly  to 
regal  honors,  but  have  the  higher  happiness  of  receiving  with  them  a 
Queen,  as  young,  as  brilliant,  and  as  beautiful  as  her  who  now  shared 
the  Centurial  throne.  His  Majesty  then  entered  on  a  glowing  though 
rapid  view  of  the  future  fortunes  of  civilization  under  such  a  triple 
presidential  royal  reign.  Then  he  said,  the  imperial  Eagle  of  France 
would,  from  her  Alpine  perch,  overshadow  Italy  and  the  Mediterra- 
nean with  one  wing,  and  bathe  the  pinions  of  the  other  in  the  wild 
and  stormy  North  Sea.  Then  the  American  Eagle,  hovering  over  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  would  stretch  her  wide  plumage  from  the  Pacific  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  whilst  far  above  all,  the  Centurial  Eagle,  grasping 
the  pallet  of  art  in  one  talon,  and  wielding  the  thunderbolt  of  the  press 
in  the  other,  would  soar  in  the  very  highest  heaven  of  invention. 

Here  His  Majesty,  overpowered  with  the  magnitude  and  mag- 
nificence of  these  conceptions,  paused,  and  then  added : 

It  will  take  these  three  eagles  a  longer  time  than  we  can  now 
spare  to  wait  for  them  to  descend  to  the  earth  again  from  their  airy 
height,  and  we  have  other  duties  to  discharge.  There  need  not  be  any 
apprehension  on  their  account.  Our  eagles  are  exceedingly  well  trained 
and  in  constant  practice,  and  will  come  down  from  their  rhetorical 
flight  very  safely,  and  quite  in  time  for  the  use  of  the  various  orators 
here  and  elsewhere  who  have  engaged  their  services. 

His  Majesty  then  graciously  concluded  by  a  cordial  welcome 
to  the  fair  guests  of  the  evening,  wishing  them  long  years  of 
continued   health,  happiness,  and  beauty.     Then,  receiving 


11 


from  the  chief  butler,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Sparrowgrass,  the  ancient 
massive  Gov.  Stuyvesant  two-handled  silver  goblet,  he  requested 
the  whole  court  to  join  in  the  health  of  "  Our  Fair  Guests," 
which  was  drank  with  great  applause. 
To  this  toast  Mr.  W.  C.  Bryant  responded.    He  said : 

May  it  please  the  King,  and  above  all,  may  it  please  the  Queen. 
I  hope  it  will  not  be  regarded  as  a  departure  from  strict  propriety  if  a 
poet  should  respond  to  the  toast  just  given.  In  all  ages,  from  the 
time  of  Homer  to  this  day,  it  is  the  writers  of  verse  who  have  been 
foremost  in  celebrating  the  praise  of  woman.  Who  wrote  the  Merite 
des .Femmes?  A  poet,  of  course.  Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  this  is  one 
of  the  cases  in  which  it  does  not  seem  to  be  expected  that  any  repre- 
sentative of  that  eloquent  sex  will  stand  forth  to  address  the  assem- 
bly, I  will  venture  to  say  a  word  or  two. 

I  am  aware  that  there  are  many  of  that  sex,  in  honor  of  which  this 
toast  has  been  proposed,  who  regard  associations  like  ours  as  hostile 
to  their  own  just  and  proper  influence.  They  look  upon  all  clubs  as 
not  only  selfish  and  exclusive,  but  as  absolutely  seditious — as  so  many 
centres  of  rebellion  against  the  mildest,  most  heneficent,  happiest  and 
best  government  of  which  the  mind  can  conceive — as  monastic  in  the 
worst  sense — combinations  of  men  held  together  by  the  love  of  eating, 
drinking,  and  smoking,  and  contempt  for  the  women.  I  beg  leave  to 
ask  if  there  is  anything  in  the  proceedings  of  this  evening  which  gives 
a  shadow  of  countenance  to  this  opinion?  Of  all  clubs  of  which  I 
have  any  knowledge,  the  Century  has  distinguished  itself  by  instituting 
periodical  and  frequent  festivities  for  the  ladies'  sake.  Everything  we 
see  about  us  this  evening,  all  the  preparations  for  this  brilliant  festi- 
vity, this  hanquet.  the  music,  the  decorations  of  these  halls  are  so 
many  propitiatory  offerings  laid  at  the  feet  of  woman — so  many 
expressive  and,  I  hope,  persuasive  salutations  to  a  league  of  perpetual 
amity.  When  these  apartments  were  designed  and  built,  what  idea 
was  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  those  who  directed  the  architect?  I 


12 


was  so  to  construct  them  as  best  to  minister  to  the  convenience  and 
pleasure  of  those  who  now  grace  the  floor  as  our  guests. 

It  is  related  in  ancient  history — you  will  find  the  record  in  an  old- 
fashioned  book  called  the  Spectator,  which  was  much  in  the  hands  of 
our  grandmothers,  and  which  I  believe  has  been  seen  by  some  ladies 
of  the  present  generation  whose  tastes  are  decidedly  antiquarian — that 
long  ago,  in  a  distant  country,  a  tribe  of  Amazons  were  at  war  with  a 
large  army  of  the  other  sex  who  had  encamped  against  them.  The 
exigencies  of  the  warfare,  by  some  means,  led  to  a  truce.  I  am  sorry 
that  I  cannot  be  more  particular — that  I  cannot  state  the  occasion  and 
terms  of  the  truce,  nor  the  era  and  scene  of  these  events ;  they  are  im- 
portant points  in  history,  and  worthy  of  a  careful  investigation  ;  but 
not  being  able  to  consult  the  very  scarce  work  I  have  named,  I  must 
pass  them  over. 

The  history  proceeds  to  relate,  that  to  while  away  the  dull  hours  of 
the  truce,  the  contending  parties  paid  each  other  occasional  visits  in 
their  respective  encampments.  At  these  times  the  men,  to  divert 
their  new  acquaintances,  made  a  rude  music  by  clashing  their  swords 
against  their  bucklers,  keeping  regular  time,  and  the  women,  not  to  be 
outdone,  took  their  lighter  weapons,  their  long  slender  arrows,  and 
pattered  on  their  empty  helmets,  which  they  had  taken  off  to  let  their 
long  locks  flow  down  loose  upon  their  shoulders.  The  younger  of  both 
sexes  capered  with  delight  to  these  sounds,  until  at  length  their  leaps 
and  other  movements  grew  into  regular  dances,  such  as  we  shall  have 
to-night,  after  this  refection  is  over.  At  length  the  parties  made  them- 
selves so  agreeable  to  each  other,  that  when  the  truce  had  expired,  they 
could  not  find  it  in  their  hearts  to  renew  the  war.  The  truce  was  pro- 
longed, and  finally  grew  into  a  solid,  unbroken,  perpetual  peace;  the 
two  tribes  became  blended  into  one,  and  formed  a  prosperous,  peace- 
ful, and  highly  civilized  nation. 

So  may  it  perhaps  be  with  the  Century.  The  imperfect  civilization 
in  which  it  had  its  origin  may,  through  the  gentle  influence  of  woman, 
pass  into  a  stage  of  higher  refinement.  Ours  is  a  barbarian  institution, 
we  acknowledge,  but  it  may  prove  a  transition  to  something  better. 


>3 


If  our  gracious  Queen  and  her  illustrious  maids  of  honor,  and  the 
bright  company  of  matrons  and  damsels  who  compose  her  court,  have 
done  us  the  honor  to  look  at  the  programme  of  the  evening,  they  have 
seen  that  for  to-night  there  is  to  be  no  smoking  in  any  part  of  the 
house.  Let  them  well  weigh  the  magnitude  of  the  sacrifice  which  has 
been  made  for  their  sake — the  "luxury  of  a  tenth  cigar"  voluntarily 
and  freely  abandoned.  From  such  a  beginning  what  may  we  not  hope 
for  the  future.  The  time  may  arrive,  sooner  perhaps  than  any  who 
are  here  now  expect,  when,  at  some  happy  epoch,  to  be  denominated 
in  history  the  era  of  the  feminine  invasion,  those  who  are  now 
our  visitors  shall  become  the  joint  possessors  of  these  apartments,  and 
if  joint  possessors,  they  are  sure  to  bear  absolute  sway  ;  when  our  ex- 
cellent and  honored  president,  now  our  King,  and  the  finest  scholar  that 
ever  wore  a  crown,  having  voluntarily  divested  himself  of  his  autho- 
rity, our  fair  Queen,  with  due  pomp  and  ceremony,  and  with  demon- 
strations of  rejoicing  that  shall  shake  this  building  from  the  roof  to 
the  foundation-stones,  shall  be  installed  as  the  Lady  President  of  the 
Century,  and  smoking  be  banished,  not  for  a  single  night,  but  forever. 

And  now,  with  the  leave  of  our  august  monarch,  the  benefits,  and 
bounties,  and  benignities  of  whose  reign  we  all  heartily  acknowledge  j 
and  with  the  leave  also  of  the  royal  partner  of  his  throne,  to  whom  our 
obligations  are  no  less  profound,  and  towards  whom  our  loyalty,  1 
trust,  is  even  more  enthusiastic,  I  take  the  liberty  of  directing  the 
attention  of  the  company  to  another  subject  by  proposing  this  toast — 

"The  King  of  the  Dutch,  the  firm  and  faithful  ally  of  our  gracious 
Queen." 

"Whether  on  principles  of  consanguinity  or  of  nomenclature, 
or,  as  there  is  reason  to  believe,  of  actual  delegation  from  the 
crown  of  Holland,  we  are  unable  to  say,  but  Mr.  Edgar  S.  Van 
Winkle  replied  to  this  toast: 

May  it  please  your  Majesties  :  Whether  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  the 
Dutch,  recognizes  me  as  his  minister  plenipotentiary  or  no.  I  have  no 


doubt  he  will  consider  me  as  a  very  extraordinary  ambassador.  The 
honor  you  have  intended  to  my  royal  master  by  including  him  as  one 
of  the  principalities  and  powers  remembered  on  this  occasion,  namely, 
your  own  royal  selves,  the  fair  sex,  and  the  King  of  the  Dutch,  will  be 
to  him  an  unheard  of  gratification.  Personally,  I  also  feel  proud  and 
yet  abashed  at  being  an  orator  on  this  great  event,  and  permitted  to 
speak  after  you  have  listened  to  the  echoes  of  the  thunders  of  the  fall- 
ing ocean  of  Niagara,  and  to  the  master  of  the  music  of  that  harp, 
whose  sighing  strains  and  triumphant  tones  have  become  a  national 
possession  and  a  national  pride.  The  compliment  you  have  paid  my 
sovereign  will  be  peculiarly  agreeable  to  him,  coming  from  such  an 
ancient  and  honorable  source. 

As  my  diplomatic  labors,  since  my  sojourn  at  your  Majesties'  court, 
have  not  been  extremely  arduous,  I  have  beguiled  my  leisure  by  ran- 
sacking the  archives  of  that  stupendous  monument  of  literature,  the 
Century  library.  Fortunate  in  a  McMullen,  it  needs  not  a  ^iaglia- 
bachi  or  a  Cogswell — they  would  be  but  supernumeraries  in  that  un- 
paralleled collection.  The  prosecution  of  my  studies  has  convinced  me 
that,  with  the  exception  of  the  imperial  family  of  China,  your  Majes- 
ties' lineal  predecessors  extend  back  beyond  the  point  that  any  of  the 
royal  lines  in  Europe  or  Asia  can  reach.  Your  Ptoyal  Majesty  has 
established  that  fact  in  your  elaborate  history  of  Twelfth-Night,  in 
which,  scorning  the  arts  of  vulgar  historians,  whose  petty  and  pretty 
ambition  seems  to  be  to  invest  truth  with  the  garb  of  fiction,  your 
Majesty,  rising  to  a  loftier  height,  has  draped  the  naked  outlines  of  a 
beautiful  fiction  with  the  romance  of  a  more  beautiful  truth.  May  I 
venture  to  say,  that,  coining  from  some  sources,  truth  is  stranger  than 
fiction. 

Your  Majesties'  court  also  is  composed  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  that, 
for  aught  I  know  to  the  contrary,  may  claim  even  a  pre-Adamite 
origin.  The  ladies  are  famous  for  their  beauty,  wit,  and  accompli>h- 
inents,  not  only  throughout  the  world,  but  even  throughout  the 
universe  of  New  York:  so  famous,  indeed,  that  no  rational  belief  can 
ascribe  their  origin  to  any  other  than  a  celestial  source.    They  have 


I 


15 


undoubtedly  descended  from  heaven,  but  how  far  I  cannot  tell.  As  to 
the  gentlemen  of  your  court  I  can  only  say,  that  if  they  are  descended 
from  Adam,  Adam  could  not  have  been  the  man  he  is  usually  taken 
to  have  been. 

I  feel  great  pleasure  in  standing  in  this  august  presence,  and  wit- 
nessing the  prosperity  of  your  Majesties'  kingdom.  Divine  right  and 
popular  election  have,  as  your  Majesty  the  King  has  said,  concurred 
in  your  elevation.  I  say  nothing  of  chance  having  caused  the  morsels 
of  cake  containing  the  rings  to  fall  to  your  Majesties'  possession,  for  I 
have  no  doubt  if  the  walls  of  an  adjoining  committee-room  had  tongues, 
as  they  have  ears,  we  would  be  told  that,  as  some  philosophers  affirm, 
the  doctrine  of  chances  can  be  reduced  to  a  science  and  a  certainty. 

But  to  recur,  I  cannot  look  upon  her  Majesty  the  Queen  without 
acknowledging  the  divine  right  which  the  Creator  has  bestowed  on  his 
handiwork  to  reign  over  us  all — her  merit  is  sterling,  for  she  was  a 
sovereign  before  she  possessed  a  crown.  As  to  your  Majesty  the  King, 
I  cannot  say  the  same  thing,  for  it  would  be  an  unmeaning  repetition; 
your  Majesty's  claim,  moreover,  not  resting  on  beauty  alone,  but  on 
what  is  in  your  opinion,  and  in  that  of  my  master,  a  higher  distinction, 
namely,  a  current  of  genuine  Batavian  blood  coursing  through  your 
veins. 

My  master  will  feel  proud  that  his  nation — famous  for  its  states- 
men, its  scholars,  and  its  artists — has  furnished  a  King  of  Twelfth 
Night,  who  is  in  one  a  statesman  and  a  scholar,  and  possesses  that 
appreciative  admiration  of  Art  which  is  so  necessary  to  the  life  of  Art 
itself.  May  the  Century  prove  more  grateful  for  this  gift  than  your 
Majesties'  barbarian  neighbors  east  of  the  Byram  River  have  proved 
to  be  for  the  inestimable  gifts  of  town  meetings,  common  schools,  and 
thanksgiving  days,  which  Holland  so  freely  bestowed  upon  them. 

But  I  am  growing  grave,  and  fear  any  constitutional  seriousness 
may  mar  the  general  hilarity.  I  therefore  conclude,  by  wishing  to 
your  majesties  long  life  and  prosperity,  by  hoping  that  the  many 
estimable  qualities  of  your  male  subjects,  which  are  Unknown  either  to 
themselves  or  others,  may  in  due  time  be  brought  to  light,  and  astonish 


i6 


the  world,  and  the  charms  of  your  ladies,  unsurpassed  and  unsurpass- 
able as  they  are,  may  continue  to  increase,  if  that  be  possible — may 
bloom  and  blossom  in  luxuriant  beauty,  may  be  enduring  and  perennial, 
and  extend  their  bright  influence  far  beyond  this  Century. 

But  little  more  remains  to  be  added.  Absorbed  as  we  were  in 
listening  to  the  eloquence  just  reported,  we  could  not  be  present  in 
the  saloon  above,  where  our  able  knight  of  the  quill  previously 
quoted  seems  to  have  retreated  ;  he  says,  "  To  divide  the  interest, 
and  give  more  room  while  the  graver  ones  were  listening  to  elo- 
quent adulation,  the  younger  members  were  assiduously  courting 
Terpsichore  in  the  grand  saloon,  where  the  twinkling  feet  braided 
footsteps  till  the  witching  hours  were  fled  far  away."  Yielding  to 
his  observation  for  a  report  of  the  ceremonies  in  honor  of  Terpsi- 
chore, we  add  to  our  account  of  the  joyous  festivity  a  list  of 
the  works  of  Art  displayed  upon  the  walls,  and  contributed 
for  the  occasion,  in  addition  to  those  belonging  to  the  club. 
There  were  "  Sunset  in  South  America,"  by  Mignot;  "  Twelfth 
Night,"  by  Lang ;  a  fine  copy  of  an  Ostade,  by  Chapman ; 
"Moonlight,"  by  Gignoux;  "The  Wadswortli  Oak,  Genesee 
Valley,"  by  Kensett ;  "Normandy  Coast  Scene,"  by  Dana; 
"The  Sacred  Lesson,"  by  Huntington;  "Birds  and  Dogs," 
by  Hays;  "Joan  of  Arc,"  "Roman  Girl,"  "Sibyl,"  and  "Nydia," 
by  Lang ;  "Nurse  and  Child,"  by  Leutze;  "Sketching  Flow- 
ers," an  ideal,  by  Huntington  ;  "  Children's  heads,"  and  a  cabi- 
net picture,  by  Rossiter;  "An  Evening  Scene,"  by  Suydam  ; 
"Governor  Peter  Stuyvesant,"  and  "Governor  John  Winthrop," 
the  representatives  of  our  mixed  race,  the  one  as  the  most  dis- 


'7 


tinguished  of  the  Dutch  governors,  and  the  other  of  the  first 
English  colonial  governors;  u  Dr.  Kane,"  by  Hicks;  and  two 
landscapes  by  Kensett.  In  the  Ladies'  Boudoir  were  "  Bashbish 
Fall,"  by  Kensett ;  "  Quail  chickens,"  by  Tait,  and  other  small 
pieces. 

We  must  not  close  our  report  of  this  bright  festival  without 
informing  our  readers,  that  for  much  of  the  brilliancy  and  effec- 
tive decoration  of  the  apartments,  the  guests  were  indebted  to 
the  practised  and  artistic  eyes  and  voluntary  labors  of  three  or 
four  artist  members;  while  the  banquet-rooms,  etc.,  bore  equal 
evidence  to  the  science  and  taste  of  the  sub-committee,  under 
whose  direction  it  was  prepared,  consisting  of  two  gentlemen 
skilled  alike  in  the  learning  and  the  luxury  of  the  table. 

The  Century  Club  may  now  be  fully  congratulated  on  the 
perfect  success  of  their  spirited  endeavor,  begun  in  1856,  to  re- 
vive in  this  over-worked  and  care-worn  city,  "  the  love  and 
honor  (as  the  official  report  of  last  year's  centurial  Twelfth- 
Night  expressed  it)  due  to  this  joyous  ancient  festival,  with  its 
poetical  and  reverential  associations  and  its  picturesque  and 
pleasant  usages,  which  had  for  ages  annually  contributed  to  the 
innocent  enjoyment  and  social  affections  of  the  mixed  ancestry 
of  cosmopolitan  New  York." 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


IE*  ICtbrtH 

SEYMOUR  DURST 


~t '  ~Fort  nwuiv  ^■im^€r<Li-m,  oj>  Je  Manhatans 


"When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
" Ever  thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


Ok)  (-  Sboi      6  3  V  f 


